The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund
Introduction to Grant Projects
National Institute for Environmental Studies Senior Researcher Michio Fukushima
Scenario-based assessment of the potential effects of alternative dam construction schemes on freshwater fish diversity in the lower Mekong Basin
Research grant
- Project Description
This research focuses on the effects of existing dams on freshwater fish and their environment in the lower Mekong Basin, an area known for its extremely high degree of biological diversity, and on the environmental risks presently by dams under planning. More concretely, we direct our attention to as many migratory fish as possible, gathering existing data on the Mekong Basin environment and its freshwater fish from a variety of related organizations for GIS (geographic information system) compilation. We also conduct onsite surveys in three lower-Mekong countries, sampling fish and chemically analyzing their otoliths (inner ear) to reveal migratory routes. We next evaluate the impact of existing dams and assess the ecological risk of those under planning by means of statistical modeling, with the results to be reflected within specific siting scenarios (e.g., relocating planned construction sites, identifying alternative sites, etc.).
- Fields
- Marine resources/foodPreservation of biodiversity and ecosystem
- Grant year
- FY2008 Research Grants
- Grant term
- 3 years
April 2009 - March 2012
- Grant amount
- 37,499,000 yen
- Activity region
- Mekong Basin, Indochina Peninsula (Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam)
Overview of the Organization
- Representative
- Senior Researcher Michio Fukushima
- Profile
- Specialist field
Ecology of river systems; especially, assessment of human impacts on watershed environments by examining fresh-water fish ecology and habitat
Affiliated academic societies
The Ecological Society of Japan; Ichthyological Society of Japan; Ecology and Civil Engineering Society; American Fisheries Society
Background
In May 1996 obtained a Ph.D. (fisheries) from the University of Alaska. In July 1996 became a Researcher at the Center for Regional Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies. In April 2001 became a Senior Researcher at the Biodiversity Conservation Research Project, National Institute for Environmental Studies. From April 2006 to present was a Senior Researcher at the Asian Environment Research Program, National Institute for Environmental Studies; also member of an IUCN·(International Union for Conservation of Nature) committee on seed preservation - WEB site
- http://www.nies.go.jp
- Collaborating researchers
- Seiichi NOHARA, Section Chief, National Institute for Environmental Studies; Eric BARAN, Senior Researcher, WorldFish Center; Yumiko KURA, Program Manager, WorldFish Center; So Nam, Deputy Director, Inland Fisheries Development and Research Institute; Department of Fisheries; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF); Cambodia; Tuantong Jutagate, Ubon Ratchathani University (Thailand)
- Research record
-
- (1) Fukushima, M.; Iwadate, T.; Kaneko, M.; Yabuki, T.; Kameyama, S. (2005) Changes in the Fluvial Morphology of Hokkaido Rivers – Loss of Geodiversity due to Channelization, Global Environmental Research 10 (2): 135-144
- (2) Fukushima, M. (2005) The dam-related decline of freshwater fish diversity : analyses of the data collected from Hokkaido during the last half century, Japanese Journal of Ecology 55: 349-357
- (3) Fukushima, M.; Kameyama, S. (2006) The effects of damming on masu salmon and the Sakhalin taimen and the assessment of their conservation areas based on predictive habitat models. Ecology and Civil Engineering 8 (2): 233-244
- (4) Fukushima, M., Kameyama, S., Kaneko, M., Nakao, K., and Steel E.A. (2007) Modelling the effects of dams on freshwater fish distributions in Hokkaido, Japan. Freshwater Biology 52: 1511-1524